Nijjar death row: Indo-Canada tensions flare up as New Delhi expels Canadian diplomat

Trudeau made an explosive statement in the House of Commons on September 18, claiming that New Delhi might have had a role to play behind Nijjar's killing on June 18 in British Colombia. (Image: Reuters)

The Narendra Modi government today expelled a Canadian diplomat in India, in a tit-for-tat move against Canada's decision to expel an Indian operative from Ottawa. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has released a statement on the development, saying that the diplomat has been asked to leave the country within the next five days.

"The decision reflects Government of India’s growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities," the MEA noted in its statement.

Early today, New Delhi rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of India's role in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The MEA released a statement, saying allegations of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are 'absurd and motivated'.

Canada has expelled an Indian diplomat, Pavan Kumar Rai, on suspected links to Nijjar's killing in British Columbia in June. The Canadian prime minister said that the government is "actively pursuing credible allegations" of New Delhi's involvement in Nijjar's killing.

Trudeau made an explosive statement in the House of Commons on September 18, saying that the Indian government might have had a role to play behind Nijjar's killing on June 18 in British Colombia's Surrey.

"Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India" and Nijjar's death," Trudeau said.

Strongly retaliating to Trudeau's allegations, New Delhi today said, "We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister. Allegations of Government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated".

The ministry called Trudeau's allegations "unsubstantiated", criticising the Canadian government's inaction on the strengthening Khalistani movement in Canada.

"We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law," the MEA statement noted.

"Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern," it stated.

Canada and the Khalistan Movement

The Khalistan separatist movement has been a bone of contention between Canada, home to the second largest population of Sikhs, and India, with New Delhi repeatedly voicing concern over Ottawa offering a safe haven to the "terrorists".

According to Trudeau, intelligence officials in Canada have been investigating the incident in which the Khalistan terrorist was shot dead on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural centre in Surrey.

New Delhi designated Nijjar a terrorist in July 2020 due to his alleged connections with the Khalistani separatist movement. Nijjar, claimed to be the mastermind of the Khalistani Tiger Force, a designated terror group in India, was accused of bombing a cinema in Punjab in 2007.

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly's office has identified Rai as the expelled Indian diplomat, who was in charge of Community Affairs at the Indian High Commission in Ottawa. Earlier, Joly had claimed that the expelled diplomat was in charge of the Indian external intelligence agency, Research and Analytical Wing, in Canada.

The Canadian prime minister, in his address to the House, said that he had raised the issue about the incident with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to India for the recent G20 Summit. Trudeau reportedly told PM Modi that the "involvement of the Indian government would be unacceptable", and sought cooperation from New Delhi in the investigation.

"Canada has declared its deep concerns to the top intelligence and security officials of the Indian government. Last week at the G20 I brought them personally and directly to Prime Minister Modi in no uncertain terms," Trudeau noted in the House of Commons yesterday.

Extending support to the matter, Minister of Emergency Preparedness of Canada, Harjit Sajjan, took to microblogging site X, formerly Twitter, saying that Canada "will not allow India or any other nation to interfere in our democracy". "The involvement of any foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is a grave violation of our sovereignty," said Sajjan.

Trudeau, in his address to the Parliament yesterday, said, “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty". He also stated that Ottawa would pressure New Delhi for cooperation in the murder investigation.

Retaliating to Trudeau's allegations, the MEA also highlighted that "Canadian political figures have openly expressed sympathy for such elements remains a matter of deep concern". "The space given in Canada to a range of illegal activities including murders, human trafficking and organised crime is not new".

"We reject any attempts to connect Government of India to such developments," strongly noted the ministry in its statement today. "We urge the Government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against all anti-India elements operating from their soil".

Bilateral ties under strain 

The fresh allegations levelled by the Canadian prime minister will further sour the already strained relations between New Delhi and Ottawa at a time when India is unhappy with Canada's continuous support of the Khalistani movement on its soil.

Also Read | PM Modi flags anti-India extremism, safety of diplomats in meeting with Canada's Justin Trudeau

Earlier this month, Canada suspended trade negotiations with India, which were slated to have been concluded by the end of this year. Moreover, during the G20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi last week, PM Modi did not hold bilateral discussions with Trudeau. The Centre later said that Modi conveyed his concerns to Trudeau about the protests in Canada against India in demand of Khalistan as a separate state carved out of Punjab.

With nearly 770,00 Sikhs in the nation as per the 2021 Census, Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside India.